Reps pass bill to empower LGs as federating units for second reading
The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to include Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Area Councils as constituent units of the Nigerian federation.
The proposed legislation, titled: A Bill for an Act to Alter the Provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), to Include Local Government Areas and Area Councils as Constituent Units of the Federation and for Related Matters, scaled second reading during plenary on Wednesday.
It was sponsored by Abbas Tajudeen, Speaker of the House, and Adewale Hameed, who represents Agege Federal Constituency in Lagos State.
Leading debate on the bill, Hameed explained that the propsed law seeks to constitutionally recognise LGs as autonomous tiers of governance with full constitutional backing, rather than administrative appendages of state governments.
Hameed lamented that despite being recognised in the Fourth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, local governments are not explicitly listed as a full-fledged tier of government or as constituent units of the federation.
“This bill seeks to amend the constitution to explicitly recognise local government areas and the area councils of the Federal Capital Territory as constituent units of the federation, alongside the federal and state governments. In doing so, we aim to affirm and protect the autonomy of local governments and area councils,” he said.
He added that strengthening local government autonomy was vital to improving governance and service delivery at the grassroots level.
“The success of our democracy depends on how well governance and development reach the people at the grassroots. Strengthening local government autonomy through constitutional recognition is not merely an administrative reform; it is a democratic imperative,” he added.
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Hameed further argued that the proposed constitutional alteration would reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to a true federal system anchored on three constitutionally recognised tiers of government.
Following the debate, the bill received support from lawmakers and was passed for second reading.
The House Speaker subsequently referred it to the House Committee on Constitution Review for further legislative action.
